Pieces of the Heart
by books-n-cookies
Summary: "Even though she had no intention of getting attached to any of the tributes, she felt herself drawn to him. For some reason, he had captured her attention, and there was no going back." First HG story, Cato/Katniss
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related the Hunger Games.**

**A/N: So this is my first attempt at a Hunger Games story! It's been flitting around in my head for quite awhile, so I'm glad it's finally off my chest. I'm super nervous about this, and I'm not sure it's my best writing. But please review! I want to work on my writing, and reviews with constructional criticism always helps. I'm also very open to any ideas and whatnot. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy! :) **

**~books-n-cookies **

* * *

Slicing the head off of the practice dummy had never felt so good.

As the thick rubber head bounced to the ground, Cato grinned. He couldn't wait to be slicing the heads off the other tributes in a few days. He was going to be the victor, end of story. Sure, he felt bad about possibly having to kill Clove, since they'd trained together for years. But he was in this thing to win it.

Besides, there'd be twenty-two other tributes besides them. Someone else would probably kill her. He hadn't trained his whole life to have some other tribute beat him out. That victor's crown was _his. _And he had every intention of winning it this year.

Pleased with his work on the decapitated dummies surrounding him, he ventured over to Clove, who was busy heaving knives at moving targets. Every single knife that left her hand hit the bulls-eye in the center of the dummy's chest with deadly accuracy. Cato smirked; he was happy to know she was on his side. He'd seen her train; she was almost as deadly as he was. _Almost._ "Have anyone else in mind for the alliance?" he called out as he approached.

Clove hurled one more knife before answering. As it struck the target right in the heart, Cato saw a thin smile pass over her face before she turned to him. "Besides District One? Not really. No one else seems dangerous enough to keep near us."

Leaning against a pillar, he crossed his arms and surveyed the training room around them. "Not even District Twelve?" he said mockingly. "They actually seem like decent tributes this year. "

Clove laughed, smirking. "That's only because their stylists didn't dress them as coal miners like every year before that. I've been watching them, and from what I can see they're just like the other tributes – weak, and easy targets." She smirked again, as if she was already planning out their deaths.

Cato laughed at her. "Alright. So not even District Four?"

She snorted. "No, they're weaker than Twelve. I say it's just us four this year – it'll be easier to kill the others off then. Besides, I hate large groups." She picked up another knife and threw it. Bulls-eye. Shaking his head, Cato walked away and headed towards the dining room. This was going to be an interesting year for the Hunger Games, he could already tell.

* * *

Katniss had been taking glances at the Careers all during the morning training session. She had focused on the boy from District One for most of it though. She believed his name was Marvel. That's what she had heard his partner call him. Either way, his laugh was obnoxious and loud, piercing the silence in the dining hall.

She narrowed her eyes at the sight of the four tributes eating together. Were alliances forming already? She knew they formed in the game, she just didn't realize they formed on the first day of training. She began to study the four quickly, her eyes scanning over each of them.

Marvel, the obnoxious one, seemed kind of scrawny, but Katniss was sure whatever meat he had on him would be pure muscle. She had also seen him throw spears, and he had hit a target every time. She checked him off as a threat in her mind. His partner, the blonde, looked fairly strong, and would also be a serious competitor. Another check. Then there was the smaller girl, probably sixteen. There was something about her that bothered Katniss. She had an air around her that was sarcastic, cunning, and intelligent. The bloodlust in her eyes was evident, and her knife throwing skills were intimidating. Out of those three, she seemed like the biggest threat. Then Katniss found her eyes resting on her monstrous partner. A small smile crossed her lips as she observed the irony in the pair; the boy had at least six inches on the girl. _It's almost like they picked polar opposites, _she thought to herself. She believed the boy's name was Cato. She already knew he was the killing machine who would cause her the most trouble in the arena. He was purely muscle, and stood at least a head taller than her. Nothing was going to stand in his way, and from the way he carried himself, he clearly knew this. Katniss wouldn't have been surprised if he could rip the practice dummies in half with his bare hands.

As she analyzed the Career group, she realized she had been staring for quite awhile at them. None of them had seemed to notice, except for the girl from District Two, Clove. Katniss watched her smirk, the glint in her eyes visible, and nudge Cato. He turned his head and me ther eyes. They stared at each other, neither daring to move, until Cato gave a cocky, lopsided smile and returned to his lunch.

Katniss vaguely remembered an encounter like this one earlier. It had been after the Opening Parade through the Capitol had ended. She and Peeta were being greeted by their stylists, Effie, and Haymitch. She remembered how excitement had radiated from all their faces, mainly because for once District Twelve had outshone everyone, for the first time ever. The excitement had dwindled when they realized Cato was glaring at them, as if he was planning to kill them right there.

Ignoring the queasy feeling that began swirling in her stomach, Katniss continued eating. Once her and Peeta had finished, they returned to training. She situated herself at the plants station, hoping for a quiet second half of training. But seeing as the odds hadn't been in her favor for most of her time, she didn't expect it to be quiet at all.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I cannot believe I'm actually updating this quickly! It's surprising, as usually I take forever to upload anything. I wanted to say thank you to those who reviewed the first chapter! It really made me happy to see those :) Hopefully you all enjoy the second chapter! **

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The instructor seemed incredibly pleased that a tribute had found an interest in his station, for he began giving her load of information on all the different plants that would be found in the arena. When he had found out she already knew the majority of the plants, he grew even more excited, making her smile. It seemed she was his first visitor in quite awhile who actually showed an interest in the plants. Suddenly, while he was explaining the difference between certain mushrooms, his voice faltered mid-sentence and he stared at something, rather someone, behind Katniss. She whipped around to find the massive body of the District Two tribute towering behind her.

"What's this station?" he inquired to the instructor while never taking his eyes off hers. She felt strangely drawn to the icy blue stare. She had expected to find cold, hard eyes with no emotion, yet she was surprised to see depth and a genuine curiosity for the station in his eyes. Or was it curiosity in her? Katniss couldn't tell.

"Uh-well-uh… plants!" The instructor finally managed to get out. Whatever Katniss had seen in Cato's gaze moments ago was quickly replaced by a bored, uninterested look as he listened to him explain the different poisonous berries, like nightlock. Katniss rolled her eyes at his ignorance. Of course the Careers wouldn't be interested – they had the Cornucopia to supply with them with food for the duration of the Games. Unlike her, who would actually have to survive on the wilderness. All he really seemed to care about was winging that sword around and cutting dummies in half. So why was he here? Katniss listened a little longer, until her attention was drawn to the snares station. Thanking the instructor, she started to head in that direction when someone grabbed her arm. Furious, she spun around to find the District Two tribute holding her upper arm. She glared at him, and he broke into a cocky grin. "I'm Cato." He said, releasing her arm.

She quickly snatched it out of his reach before speaking. "Bye, Cato." She replied coldly, the stalked away towards the snares.

She hadn't gone far when his voice stopped her. "Don't I get to know your name?" he was still standing at the plants stating. The instructor stood behind him, his mouth wide open in shock, watching the two tributes. Katniss smiled slightly at how ridiculous he looked.

"Katniss."

Again he gave his cocky smile, and then strode away, most likely back towards the weapons.

Katniss shook her head to clear her mind of him. That's probably what he had wanted to accomplish – distract her and throw her off her game. But she wasn't going to let him win. No way. She wasn't going to let some hulking Career tribute distract her. As she settled down by the snares station, she set her mind to the only snare line in her hand. The instructor showed her how to create snares to trap rabbits and others to immobilize enemies; like the one that would hang a human upside-down by a leg. Katniss smirked at the idea of Cato hanging upside-down from a tree in one of her snares – now _that _would be amusing. Then she frowned at who she was thinking of. She really had to get the blonde tribute out of her mind.

* * *

As he watched her at the snares, Cato knew he had gotten into her head. He had hoped to distract her when he'd gone to the plants station, because to be honest, he had absolutely no interest in berries. Now that he knew he'd gotten into her mind, he knew it'd be easier than ever to do it again. He grinned to himself, enjoying his small victory, then picked up a sword, hoping to mutilate a few more dummies before day's end.

"What were you doing with District Twelve?" the voice came from behind Cato, and he spun around, sword in hand, to find Clove facing him, her arms crossed over her tiny body. She didn't look particularly please, her eyes dark with anger.

"I was checking out the plants station to learn about berries." _Lie._ "Why?" he said as he swung the sword over his head and brought it down, cleanly slicing through the foam arm of a dummy.

"Yeah, right. That's a lie. You only went over there because _she _was over there. And as soon as she left, you came back to the swords. So I'll ask you again. What were you doing?" Cato hated how right she was. She could spot a lie as soon as it came out of his mouth, and he found it slightly irritating. Clove seemed to guess he was annoyed, for she only laughed and tossed her ponytail over her shoulder.

"What can I say? The mushrooms were interesting."

"Cato!"

"Fine, I wanted to find out her name," he stated emotionlessly. Again he swung the sword downward, this time cleaving off the other arm of the dummy.

"And did you"? Clove asked impatiently.

Cato looked down at her, hoping to intimidate the smaller girl. She stood up straight and glared at him, looking him right in the eye. Dark brown met blue. "I did. Her name is Katniss."

"Well I'm glad you got some type of information out of that exchange. I was hoping you weren't doing anything stupid, like inviting her into our alliance." She pulled a knife out of a pocket and began tossing it in her hands, no longer show interest in him.

Cato's eyes widened at the idea. Did Clove really think he was that stupid? "No, I was not inviting her into the alliance. Why on earth would I do that?" She's from District Twelve, for crying out loud. I'm pretty sure our alliance is supposed to be strong."

Clove stopped tossing the knife for a minute and looked at him coolly. "Jeez, don't get so worked up. I was just making sure. I've noticed you've been paying a lot of attention to her. Especially after the parade." She grinned, clearly enjoying the memory.

He narrowed his eyes, finally putting down the sword and focusing solely on Clove. "That was only because they had completely outdone us. You can't pretend you didn't notice that. Besides, there's nothing wrong with scoping out the competition."

She laughed again. "I'd hardly call District Twelve competition."

"You never know. We'll see in the arena when I'm right."

"Whatever Cato, believe what you want." She turned her back to him, and headed to throw more knives.

Cato pulled a knife out of his pocket, tossed it in his hand, then hurled it at a dummy besides Clove. She jumped away from the dummy, snarling as it smacked the center bull's-eye. "You _idiot._ What is your problem?"

He shrugged. "Just felt like practicing my knife throwing. Guess I missed my target though."

Clove rolled her eyes, then reached for the handle and pulled the knife out before tucking it into her pocket. "If you were aiming for me, you might as well stick with your stupid sword. And you better watch your back, especially if it's down to us two in the arena!"

He only gave her a smile. "You know I wouldn't expect any different." She glared at him a moment longer, then broke into a grin, laughing, before turning away. Cato smiled as she walked away. The next few days in training were going to be entertaining, between messing with Clove and Katniss.

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**A/N: Gah I'm really not sure I like that ending. It's kind of weak. But oh well. Please review! :) I love receiving feedback!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you SO much for all the reviews! I loved reading what people thought, it makes my day reading them. And thank you to all who've added this too their favorites/alerts, I'm glad so many have enjoyed this. Sorry it took longer than I thought to upload this chapter, I was busy yesterday and didn't get a chance to post anything. The next chapter will be up either later tonight (depending on how much I write) or Saturday! **

**I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter, for some reason I couldn't seem to portray Cato the way I wanted. I hope I did an okay job though. It was pretty frustrating, which is probably why I didn't finish this yesterday. Okay! Well enough of me ranting. Hopefully this chapter is alright :) Please let me know what you think! **

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After training had ended, Katniss headed straight up to the twelth floor with Peeta. Of course, with Katniss's luck, they managed to get into an elevator with the tributes District Two and District Ten. The ride up to their suite was practically unbearable. Katniss felt Cato's eyes on her almost the entire ride, and even though it was a short ride since he was on the second floor, it felt like an eternity. Clove had pulled a hidden knife out of her book and had snickered at Peeta's shocked reaction. To avoid any other contact with the tributes in the elevator, he tried conversing with Katniss, but she had no interest, as she was lost in thoughts about the day. Feeling extremely uncomfortable, he resorted to staring at his shoes, much to the amusement of Cato and Clove.

Katniss leaned against the wall of the elevator, thinking. She knew Cato was trying to mess with her, but why? She wasn't competition, certainly not to him or Clove. Maybe if she got her hands on a bow and arrow she'd have a chance against the two. A ridiculously slim chance, but a chance none the less. And she would take all the help she could get to win these games. As the elevator finally reached their level, she got off as quickly as possible and went straight to the shower.

Hot water was a commodity she rarely had access to in District Twelve, so she rather enjoyed taking steaming hot showers in the Capitol. As the water coursed down her back, she thought of Prim, and how she wouldn't believe what the Capitol was like. The amount of food, the technology, the showers, the people. Katniss couldn't wait to get back to District Twelve to tell her all about what has happened since she arrived. The only obstacle in her way was the Games. _And Cato_, a voice whispered in the back of her head. Stepping out of the shower, she chose a loose green tank top and black pants, then headed to the living room to sit on the couches. Cinna and Haymitch were already out, watching the television. All day Hunger Games related showers were airing, mainly about the past games. Uninterested, Katniss picked her nails while the two men conversed.

Later that night they had the option of more training, but Katniss passed it up. She pretended to be tired, and went to her room, then sneaked out of the penthouse and into the hallways. Walking around by herself in the deserted hallways as comforting to her. Although it wasn't the woods outside her district and Gale wasn't there, it was better than being cooped up and discussing more strategies of survival. She missed Gale.

Distracted, she let her feet go where they wanted and she soon found herself on the stairs. As they opened to a rooftop, Katniss could only gaze in wonder. She could see for miles that the Capitol stretched out in a sprawling landscape below her. The lights were so bright, so different, from the woods she loved. She was so wrapped up in the view that she didn't hear the person approaching behind her.

"Enjoying the view?" Katniss whipped around, startled. Cato stood behind her, leaning against the doorframe.

"No, not really." That was all she could think to say as he walked up next to her to stand by the ledge and look out at the city below them.

"Really? I'd think someone from Twelve would be in complete awe of the Capitol. All the light, the noise, the people." He stared out at the scene below as he spoke, his gaze focused on some distant point.

"I prefer the woods." She sat down, and he sat across from her. "And the amount of people here doesn't faze me at all." A smirk crept up on his face at her comment. She noticed he had a slightly crooked smile, but barely. It almost made him look attractive… She drove the thought instantly from her mind, like she would drive a flock of geese to the sky while hunting. She had to remember he was a killer. Her enemy.

"So do I faze you at all?" he studied her face as he asked her, looking for any emotions. She held his icy blue gaze, and held her face still, refusing to move a muscle and give him any indication of her thoughts.

"Should you faze me?"

Again the smirk appeared, though Cato's normal cockiness was gone. "Probably. Though I don't really know. I just assumed I would, though apparently I was wrong."

His blunt honesty caught her slightly off guard, and she shifted her legs, slightly uncomfortable in her current position. She wrapped her arms around her knees. What was he doing? Katniss knew it was strange he was showing so much interest in her. A Career talking with an outcast from District Twelve? Unheard of.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Ask away," he said, though his eyes were questioning.

"Why are you doing this?" when she saw the confusion evident on his face, she continued hurriedly. "Why are you talking to me?"

He looked down at his feet. "Again, I don't really know. I guess I wanted to see what you were like. Clove isn't really that interesting of a person. I figured you'd be entertaining to talk to, you seem pretty intelligent. Even if you are slightly hostile." He winked at her as he finished speaking and flashed another cocky grin, causing her to show a smile.

"Won't your Career pack be pissed though when they find out you're talking to me? They don't really seem like the friendly type, especially not to tributes like me." Katniss had seen them laughing at the others if they'd failed at a station, their cruel laughter ringing around the training center. She had avoided them as much as possible, besides her earlier encounter with Cato.

He snorted. "Like I care. And it's not like they'll kill me or anything. Except maybe Clove." He trailed off, then shook his head. "Nah, I mean she might try to, but let's be honest. She wouldn't stand a chance against me."

Katniss laughed; he was right. Cato was about twice the size of Marvel, and Glimmer, his partner, wasn't exactly intimidating. In fact, she had been all over Cato earlier, constantly flirting and touching him. Granted, she was a Career, but compared to Cato, she wouldn't stand a chance against him. And seeing Clove take on Cato would be an amusing sight. Katniss got the feeling that she and Cato were probably well matched, but his brute force and size would tip the scales in his favor, even if she was deadly with her knives.

"Besides, you seem pretty cool, Girl on Fire. I mean, plants and mushrooms are pretty exciting. And deadly."

Katniss rolled her eyes. Leave it to him to bring up the Capitol's newest nickname for her after the Opening Ceremonies, and the berries that they had first met over.

"Don't be jealous that our outfits were better than your ridiculous gladiator suit or whatever it was that you were wearing!" They both laughed at the memory – even though he'd look fearsome, he had paled in comparison to Katniss's fiery entrance and the flames that had attracted all the eyes in the Capitol.

"Come on! You know I was intimidating."

"Hmm… No. What's even better is you were so jealous of our outfits. We all saw you staring at us. Or glaring. You looked kind of pissed. I thought it was funny, but Haymitch had other ideas."

"That's because I was pissed! We had stupid roman suits, and you guys had flames shooting out of your capes. We both looked ridiculous compared to you and your partner. You blew everyone away. And I don't exactly like sharing attention."

Katniss just looked at him, trying to decipher whether he was being sincere in his compliments or not. All she could see in his face was honesty, but she knew it wouldn't be hard for him to mask his real emotions. All she could really do was trust him, and she wasn't sure she did. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how wrong this was. They shouldn't be talking on a rooftop like friends; in a few days they would be going at each other's throats, trying to kill each other to win. And only one person would come out alive. Katniss knew she wouldn't be able to kill Cato if she had to. Especially after the way she had been talking to him tonight. It wasn't much, but it was enough to see that he too was another teenager, thrown into these stupid games just to entertain the Capitol. It was all so wrong.

"Well it's getting late, so I need to go. I guess I'll see you tomorrow at training." She abruptly got up, and began to walk away.

"Alright. Are you going to be trying out the bows tomorrow? I might need some help. I'm not too good with shooting." Cato's voice drifted across the rooftop from behind her back, as if she hadn't just randomly stood up and left.

Katniss stopped dead in her tracks as he finished speaking. Turning her head she asked, "How did you…?" she trailed off, shocked.

"How did I know? It's not hard to figure out when you stare at the archery station constantly during training," he stared smugly at her, his grin sliding into place once more. He stood up and walked until he was standing next to her. "And by the way, I'm being serious about the help. There may something in it for you too, say, help with your knife throwing?" Before she could answer, he had given her one last smirk before disappearing down the stairs, leaving Katniss standing in the same place, completely and utterly confused as to what had just transpired.

After Cato left, she spent a few more minutes observing the Capitol, trying to get her mind around what she and Cato had discussed. Why was he offering help to her? And was he seriously interested in archery? Katniss felt that if he was a Career, he should already be skilled in that. So what was he doing?

As she entered her room, she sighed, sitting on the plush bed. They still had two more days of training left. She would ask Haymitch tomorrow morning – without Peeta around – about what she should do with Cato. For some reason she didn't want Peeta knowing. She didn't need any more people complicating her current situation. Determined to at least get a few hours a sleep, Katniss crawled under the covers and closed her eyes.

Her dreams were filled with the District Two tribute.

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**And that is the end of chapter three! I realized my chapters are kind of short, but they'll be getting longer soon. I already had these written out, which is probably why they were on the shorter side. **

**Hope you enjoyed! If you have time, I'd love a review. I really do love reading what people have to say!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: First off, I need to apologize for how late this chapter is. I had such awful writer's block, and literally had no motivation for this chapter. Hopefully it is alright, though I definitely feel this is the weakest chapter I've written. Blegh. Well hopefully you guys can enjoy it! The next chapter will definitely have more Cato/Katniss interaction, but hopefully this one is alright! Enjoy! :)**

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Katniss felt the sun shining on her face as she woke up. The sun was literally rising, so it couldn't have been later than 6 am. She was so groggy still, and was wondering why she was waking up with the sun – training wasn't for a few more hours. Then as the memories from the previous night came flooding back into her mind, she sat straight up in her bed, her mind clearing quickly. She had to find Haymitch. She needed help.

Bolting out of bed, she raced for the closet, grabbing her training outfit. It looked new, yet identical to the one she had worn the previous day. She changed quickly, sliding her feet into her boots. The only thoughts running through her mind were that she needed to talk to Haymitch, alone, before Peeta woke up. Katniss was used to waking up early, so she figured no one else would be up right now.

Sprinting out of her room, she stopped, realizing that stomping around like a herd of elephants would only succeed in waking everyone on the twelfth floor up, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Calming herself down, Katniss proceeded to the main room of the penthouse, hoping he was already up. To her disappointment, the floor was empty. The only other occupants besides her were two Avoxes standing against the wall, silently watching her.

She walked past the couches and the wall to the other side, and the hallway where the adults stayed. As she approached Haymitch's door, she held out her hand to knock when the door flew open violently and she was greeted by a very sleep and pissed off Haymitch.

"Why the hell are you up this early? It's barely past six," he growled, his face haggard and unkempt.

Katniss steeled her face, not budging from the smell of alcohol wafting off of him. How was it he _still _smelled? "I need help. I have a question for you."

Haymitch studied her curiously, then opened his door wider to allow her in. As she walked in, he shut the door behind her and leaned against it. "What's your question, sweetheart?"

She stood facing him, arms crossed. "Would you trust a Career if they asked you for help?"

His eyes instantly narrowed. "What?"

"The tribute from District Two asked for my help with archery. He said he'd help me with knife throwing or a different skill if I helped him."

Haymitch sighed. "How did he know you were good at archery?"

"Apparently I was looking at the bows lined up, and he put two and two together," she admitted sheepishly. "I didn't think I was being obvious about it. I didn't go anywhere near that station."

"Careers are smart, sweetheart. It's not your fault; he's just too observant. And I'm not calling you weak, but you could use all the help you can get. This is the Hunger Games, and he is trained for this." He looked torn as he continued speaking. "I hate saying this, but if he's offering to help you, I don't think that's something you can pass up. He's smart, that's for sure. Usually the Careers are just strong fighters, and aren't usually intelligent, but clearly he's different. I'd help him and accept his help, but just be careful. You're smart enough to know when things are getting messy."

Katniss nodded. Although she had been hoping Haymitch would tell her to avoid him, she knew it was smart to accept his help. "Alright. What about Peeta though? Am I just supposed to abandoned him?"

"I'll deal with him during breakfast, don't worry. We'll work something out," Haymitch said, patting her on the shoulder.

Katniss nodded, then opened the door and walked out, shutting it tightly. She continued down the hallway, back towards the main room, where now Peeta, Cinna, and Effie sat, deep in conversation about something. Cinna looked up as she walked towards them, and waved her over to sit with them.

"We were just discussing how tomorrow we have private sessions with the game makers and the interviews, so we have to make sure we get in as much training as possible today," Peeta said as she sat down.

"Alright, sounds good to me," she replied as she bit into an omelette that had been sitting at the table. "What time do we head down to the training center?"

"Probably in an hour. It's only six thirty now. So I guess we have time to eat and relax before we head down there."

Katniss nodded, still eating her omelette. A plan had begun to formulate in her head when Peeta had mentioned they still had about an hour until training started. She assumed most of the other tributes wouldn't head down there for a little longer, so she might have time to practice with a bow before everyone else came in. Except she had Peeta to deal with. But her thoughts were interrupted by a shuffling of feet, and then Haymitch walked into the room to join the rest of them.

"Good to see you up Haymitch," Peeta said, as he sat down at the table with a huff. It was obvious that he hadn't gotten much sleep, and had a pretty large hangover, judging from his facial expressions when Peeta spoke.

"It's too early to be up," he said gruffly. "The sun is barely up. I should be in bed for at least another hour."

"Aren't you supposed to be mentoring us though?" Katniss asked, smirking. "I don't think that means you can sleep all day. We're both going to need advice anyways."

Haymitch just glared at her, causing her to give him an innocent smile. Grumbling more, he grabbed a piece of toast and began spreading jam on it. "Today I want you both to work on agility, endurance, weapons, anything that you didn't do yesterday. Today is your last full day of training before tomorrow and the private sessions, so make sure you try to cover everything today."

Katniss and Peeta nodded. She finished eating the omelette and stood up. "I'm done eating, so I'll see you down there Peeta."

He nodded again. "Sounds good."

Katniss almost laughed as she walked away. It had been too easy to get away without them questioning where she was going. They probably assumed she would go back to her room, but she planned on going straight to the training room. Hopefully Haymitch would remember what he told her – it was important that Peeta knew what she had planned today. She knew she should've told Peeta during breakfast, but she just couldn't bring herself to tell him. She'd explain during lunch what happened.

Walking briskly, she headed for the elevator, hitting down button. The doors slid open, and she walked in. As they shut, she hit the button for the floor the training room was on. She watched the numbers on the elevator quickly decrease, when suddenly it paused on the number two. _Oh shit, _she thought to herself. The doors flew open to reveal Cato, looking half asleep. He perked up when he saw who else was in the elevator.

"Well, look who we have here," he said, his signature smirk on his face. He stepped into the elevator with her, pressing the same button she already pressed.

Katniss rolled her eyes. "What are you doing?"

"Heading to the training room. I'd ask you the same question, but it looks like you're heading there too," he replied, leaning against the wall in the elevator opposite of her. "Are you going to practice some shooting? I may need some help."

"Maybe I'll help you," she said decidedly. "I want to shoot some first."

He stared at her, and Katniss glared back. She was not going to let this tribute intimidate her. Even if he was from District Two, had trained his entire life, and could probably kill her in this elevator, she wasn't going to let him know that she did fear him. From what she knew of him, his ego didn't need any more inflating.

"So does this mean our deal is still in place from last night?" he asked her, still staring at her.

"Sure. What can you help me with?" she asked.

The elevator door opened, revealing the training center. Cato stepped out first, then turned around to Katniss. "I'm sure there's a lot I could help you with," he said with a wink.

She rolled her eyes again, walking out of the elevator and into the training center. "With training, Cato. I want help with _training._"

He raised his hands defensively, laughing at her reaction. "Alright, alright. It was just a suggestion. I can help you with swords, spears, knives, basically anything. Anything in particular you want to focus on?"

Katniss thought for awhile, running through ideas in her head. "How about spear throwing? Either that or knife throwing, I guess. I don't even want to try using a sword; I'll never grab one in the arena."

He laughed. "Good, because I've called all the swords in the arena. There wouldn't be any for you anyways."

Ignoring his comment, she continued talking, heading towards the archery station. "So are we going to help each other in secret then?"

He looked at her, sizing her up once again. "Yeah, that's fine. Want to stay late tonight to work too? I get the feeling you don't want to train with me while everyone's watching. Not sure why," he finished with another smirk, his blue eyes bright.

"So now, and then after? Okay." Turning her back to him, she began looking at the bows and arrows in front of her. She had hoped there would be a wooden bow like her hunting one back home, but it seemed only metal ones were present. Oh well, those would do. She picked one up, and it was surprisingly as light as hers. The bowstring seemed a little stronger, but she could get used to it after a few tries with it. Picking up a slim arrow from the rack, she turned towards a dummy, raising the bow and arrow. Pulling it back, she let it go with a loud _twang. _Looking up at the bullseye, she smiled when she saw the result. It had hit dead center. _Bullseye_, Katniss thought smugly. She turned around to see Cato, and for once, he looked impressed.

"Dang, Girl on Fire, you actually can shoot pretty well," he said. "I'm surprised."

Katniss looked at him, arms crossed in front of her. "If you didn't think I could shoot, why would you ask for help?"

He walked towards her, cutting the space between them in half. As he got closer, Katniss noticed how much taller he actually was. He stood a good head taller than her, and his arms looked at least twice the size of hers. He could probably crush her with his bare hands. "I had my suspicions you were good, but I wanted to see if you were as good as I thought. Wouldn't have you done the same?" he asked, crossing his arms.

She opened her mouth to shoot a snide comment back, but then realized that she probably would have done the same. Haymitch's words came back to her now. _He's smart, that's for sure. Usually the Careers are just strong fighters, and aren't usually intelligent, but clearly he's different._ _I'd help him and accept his help, but just be careful. _Cato was really starting to show just how cunning he was. But Katniss wasn't deterred. She still could benefit from him. "You know, I probably would have," she said, watching with amusement at his reaction to her words. Clearly he wasn't expecting that to come out of her mouth. "So our deal still stands, correct? I'm going to need help with those spears."

Cato's face was a mask, but soon broke out into a sincere grin. "Yeah, it does," he said, nodding. He stepped back, still grinning. "As long as you still help me with that bow our deal still stands."

Katniss held out the bow to him. "Shall we start now?"

He looked at it for a moment, then accepted it, his hands closing around it. "Alright," he said. "Let's do this."

Katniss looked up, a smile on your face. "Have you ever shot an arrow before?"

He snorted, and looked at her. "I've trained my whole life for these games, remember? Of course I have. Doesn't mean I'm any good at it though."

"Well it's a good thing I'm here then I guess." She said, smirking.

Cato grinned. "Someone's getting cocky I see."

"No, I'm just confident." She laughed, then glanced at the clock. Their time was slowly running out – soon tributes would be filing into the center. "We don't have much time. So let's see how good you are at shooting before I try to help you."

He nodded, still grinning, and walked towards where Katniss had stood. He stood, bow poised, and pulled back the arrow. With another twang, it flew through the air, to hit outside the target. He cursed, and yanked another arrow off the rack. Pulled it back, and _twang. _It missed also, but was a little closer than the previous try. Still it didn't particularly please Cato, who let out another string of curses, his face blotched red with anger. Katniss couldn't help but let out a little laugh at his reaction. She thought it was absurd he was so upset over one arrow. Cato must have heard her though, for he whipped around angrily.

"You find this funny, Twelve?" he snarled, his eyes no longer playful. They were as cold as ice, fury evident in them.

Katniss backed up, worried. "Cato, it was only your second try. And you were getting _beyond _pissed. Besides, you can use every other weapon here.

He came closer, and she backed up until she hit the wall behind her. There was nowhere else to go. He advanced until there was only a small space between them, and she could feel his breath on his face. "You better watch it, fire girl," he growled, but the fury in his eyes had begun to fade, but only slightly.

She looked up at him, her grey eyes meeting his. "Cato, I'm sorry." She was worried that tributes were going to start coming in and see them. Seeing him pinning her against a wall wasn't exactly how Katniss wanted everyone to see them, especially not the rest of the Careers or Peeta. That was a conflict she desperately wanted to avoid. "Look, after training today, I'll help you. I promise."

His eyes stared into hers, and Katniss started to wonder what he was going to say. "Okay. After training and dinner tonight. We'll meet up on the roof." With that, he stepped away, and headed to put the bow back on the rack. "Oh and fire girl," he stopped and faced her, for Katniss hadn't moved. "If you don't show up, you'll be sure to be the first one I go after." He flashed her another wink, then left the station.

Katniss didn't move, she just kept processing what had just happened. Cato had gone from his arrogant, cocky self to a furious monster, capable of killing in an instant. Not only was he smart, he was deadly. And Katniss knew she was going to have to be extra careful around him. Her gut was telling her not to trust him.

But then why did she desperately want to?


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or put this story on their alerts. I'm excited to know that many people are enjoying this. I hope I'm doing an okay job with this! Feel free to send me any PM's or reviews, I read every review and respond. :) Thanks again, it really makes my day when people show interest in my writing :)**

**On another note, I'm having issues trying to write Peeta's character. I don't know what to do with him in this story, so if any of you have ideas or whatnot, PM or let me know what you think; I'd love some advice or ideas!**

**Also - would people be interested in a chapter in another character's POV? I'm considering having a few, but I'd love opinions, so please let me know what you think!**

**Again, sorry for the wait, this week has been pretty hectic and stressful and I haven't been able to update as much as I've wanted. The past few days weren't really good for me, and yesterday I spent 4 hours cleaning the band room at my school. Not fun :/ I won't be able to update until Sunday most likely because I'm visiting my friend in college for the weekend, so my apologies. Though there should be another chapter up by Monday! **

**Enjoy :)  
~Books-n-cookies :)**

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Not long after Katniss had plucked the arrows out of the target dummy and put them back on the rack, the first few tributes had started filing into the training center. First had been Clove, Marvel, and Glimmer, and they'd instantly headed over to Cato, who had been sitting along the side of the arena. The other districts had filed in, and then Peeta had finally wandered in. Katniss walked over to him, hoping to talk, but his eyes were wary, something she wasn't used to.

"Were you with Cato?" he questioned as soon as she was by her side, and Katniss instantly felt horrible about going behind his back. She should have told him before Haymitch did.

"Yeah. Look, he's dangerous. And I need the help with the weapons. I'll show you what he teaches me."

Peeta stared at her, a strange look in his eyes. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure if he found out he'd be mad at you. I'm no good with most of those weapons anyways, so it's fine."

Katniss just looked at him. Was he seriously passing up this opportunity? She gave him one more look. "If you're sure, then okay."

He just nodded shortly. "I'll be fine Katniss, don't worry. So what stations do you want to cover today? I was thinking camouflage, or maybe some of those endurance or agility stations. They seemed pretty interesting to me."

"Yeah, that sounds good. And then possibly spear throwing?"

"Sure. Let's go to camouflage first then."

As they began walking towards the station, Katniss felt a pair of eyes on her back. She didn't have to look to know who they belonged to. She glanced behind her quickly, and sure enough, Cato was standing by Clove and Marvel at a different station, and while they were conversing and laughing about something, he was staring straight at Katniss. When he saw that she had seen him staring, his face slipped into his signature smirk before he turned his attention back to Clove. Katniss shuddered – he still managed to send chills down her spine with a look – then followed Peeta to the camouflage area.

It was obvious that Peeta enjoyed painting. He had made his entire right arm look like tree bark while Katniss had barely managed to figure out how to mix the paints together to form a dark color. He was skilled with the concept of painting – each stroke was long, graceful, and delicate. Even if it was only on his arm, Peeta made the camouflage match the actual trees perfectly. Katniss finally gave up on the paints and decided watching Peeta was better than getting mud and paints all over herself, especially because they still had hours left of training.

"Don't you want to try some more?" Peeta asked, watching her sitting on the side, aimlessly stirring the mixture she'd used around in the bowl.

Katniss snorted. "I tried enough. Let's just say this is certainly not my strength."

"It's alright. I think the only reason I'm good at it is because I was always decorating the cakes in the bakery. I got used to mixing frosting and icing." Peeta's gaze seemed far off and distant, and Katniss could guess he was thinking back to District Twelve and the bakery. Now that she thought of it, she remembered taking Prim by the bakery window on the way to school and seeing all the cakes. She loved gazing in the window and admiring the fancy flowers and designs on the baked goods. She knew we would never be able to afford them, but even a quick look would make her smile for the rest of the day.

_Prim. _Just thinking about her made Katniss' heart wrench. If only these games could be over already. She missed Prim and Gale and her mother and the rest of District Twelve. As she thought about this, she realized only one of them would be coming out, and her already bad mood turned even more sour at the thought. Peeta was too nice of a kid to be stuck here. They all were. And by growing closer to him, she was just making the games harder for herself.

"I remember seeing them, Prim loved looking at them every day," Katniss said. "We walked by every day." She stood up, placing the bowl back on the station's table. "Can we move to a different station now? We've been here for awhile. I want to hit some other stations before lunch." She glanced at the clock. They had about an hour left before their break.

"Sure, I'll go clean up. Should we go to the obstacle course next?" Peeta pointed across the room to the course where some tributes were currently running through it.

She nodded. "Yeah, that'll work. And after lunch we can try some spear throwing or something else. I want to work on weapons before tomorrow."

"While I'm cleaning up, are you going to start on the course?" Peeta asked her.

Katniss paused for a moment, then shook her head. "Nah, I can wait for you. I'll just walk around here some. I'll meet you over there though."

"Okay, see you in a few." He then headed off to the bathroom to get the camouflage material off his arm.

Now that she was alone, Katniss took the time to observe the other tributes around her. She noted most of them had absolutely no idea what to do with a weapon. She cringed as she watched the girl from District 7 attempt to swing a sword at a training helper. The poor girl wouldn't last a day in the arena against the likes of Marvel or Cato. Then again, she couldn't really talk; she doubted she could do any better against them with a sword. But if she got her hands on a bow then they wouldn't stand a chance. Katniss smiled at the thought. She continued her scanning, pausing slightly over the large male tribute from District Eleven. He was massive, almost as big as Cato, and probably just as deadly. He seemed to be able to wield a sword much better than the other girl. Katniss mentally put him on a list of tributes to watch out for in the arena. Then her eyes fell upon his District partner.

It felt as if a wall had slammed into Katniss. She felt herself staring at a little girl, who barely looked twelve. She was dark skinned and looked just like a little bird. _Just like Prim._ She looked so innocent, and was currently tying knots, her big brown eyes watching the instructors every move.

Katniss shook her head. She couldn't let herself be distracted any more than she had been. First with Cato, then with Peeta, and now with the little girl. If she kept it up, soon every single tribute would be messing with her brain.

Heading over to the obstacle course, she sneaked a glance in the Careers direction. Katniss had tried to avoid them at all costs – she didn't need their attention drawn to her for any reason. In the arena she hoped they would forget about her and focus on hunting down the other tributes and hopefully get killed or kill each other in the process. But with Cato's attention clearly on her, she just had to keep the other's attention on different tributes.

Cato had been busy swinging his sword around a circle of dummies. She watched as he sliced an arm off the first one, then whipped around to cleanly decapitate another's head. A couple more swings of his sword, and another lost an arm while a different one was sliced from the shoulder to its opposing hip. Finally he stabbed the first dummy straight through the heart. Katniss watched in shock, taking in the scene. He was sweating now, and he reached his hand up to wipe the sweat off his brow. Looking at the carnage around him, he grinned, clearly impressed with his work.

Katniss knew he was going to be her number one enemy in the arena. She still didn't know what he was playing at with the whole "training buddies" thing, but her guard was on high. He very obviously wanted something from her, probably her archery skills. And even though she had no intention of getting attached to any of the tributes, she felt herself drawn to him. For some reason, he had captured her attention, and there was no going back. She had the feeling Cato knew this, and would do everything in his power to exploit her skills. Too bad she was prepared for anything.

She moved to the obstacle course, allowing tributes to go ahead of her as she waited for Peeta to come back. As she stood there, Clove and Marvel both walked by, giving her glares as they got into line for the course.

"I say she's going to be one of the first to die." Marvel's sneering voice and Clove's laughter carried over to where Katniss was sitting, causing her to stiffen with rage. Of course the Careers were cocky, arrogant fools who thought they'd be the last ones standing. Every year they got more and more arrogant, which Katniss found disturbing.

She was about to snap a response to him but then another voice cut her off. "Shut up Marvel. Have you even seen half of these tributes? At least ten of them will be dead in an hour. She'll at least make it past the bloodbath. Try paying a little more attention to the competition." Katniss was surprised to see Cato had joined them in the line, and was staring at Marvel with disgust. Marvel stood there, shocked at Cato's reaction, while Clove had narrowed her eyes, closely watching both tributes.

"Are you serious? She's from District Twelve. They never make it past the bloodbath. This year will be no different," Marvel scoffed, though his face had started to grow red. Cato glared once more at him.

"We'll see who's right after the bloodbath's over. I guarantee you'll be the one regretting your words." Cato snapped. Marvel's face flushed with anger, and he looked like he was going to lunge at Cato before Clove stepped between the two males.

"Marvel, stop being an ass. It's your turn – so go already," she turned away from Marvel before he could respond. Marvel shot one more hate filled glare at Cato before stepping forward.

Katniss had watched the whole conversation in disbelief. Had Cato just defended her, against another Career? What was he doing? Clove seemed to have the same idea as Katniss, for she was now in conversation with Cato, and she didn't look happy. In fact, she looked pissed. Cato however had his indifferent look plastered on his face, not seeming to care at all about what Clove was so angry about. In fact, he started laughing, which caused her to snap at him again.

"For once Cato, please think with your brains and not– "

Cato's face instantly hardened, and now it was Clove's turn to laugh. "That's what I thought."

Unable to follow what was going on anymore, Katniss looked towards the doors to find Peeta standing behind her expectantly.

"Peeta! You scared me. Are you ready now? We can probably get in line for the course now." Luckily a few more tributes had gotten behind Cato , so she wouldn't have to be standing near him.

He nodded. "Sure. What was that whole argument about between the pair from District Two?"

Katniss couldn't tell if he honestly didn't know, or if he wanted to hear an explanation from her about what had just gone down. Katniss went for her first impression, which was that he really didn't know what had just transpired.

"I'm not sure, Marvel made some comment and then Cato went off at him. That whole group seems to bicker a lot," she said.

"Yeah, they do. Hopefully that'll make it easier in the games then, you know, if they're so divided already." Peeta said thoughtfully.

Katniss laughed. Bickering wouldn't make them more vulnerable to others; it would just be annoying. "It might. Hopefully it'll break the alliance up early."

As they moved forward in line, Cato turned around, and gave Katniss another look. This time it was unreadable, and Katniss was a little worried. It had her hoping that he hadn't changed his mind about the training after dinner. She hoped not. For if Cato backed out, it meant her biggest enemies would know her strength in the arena, and then her chances of surviving would fly out the window. She hated being so vulnerable to a Career. But it was all for the games, and she would do anything to get back to her family in District Twelve. Even if it meant teaming up with the enemy to win.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I really want to thank all the people that have reviewed my fanfic. Every single review makes my day, and I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to let me know what you think of my writing! It means the world to me, so thank you :)**

**Hopefully this chapter doesn't disappoint. I can promise that the next chapter will certainly have much more Cato/Katniss in it, even though this entire chapter is those two ;) But yeah. ****I feel like I had more to say in here, but I'm really tired. Enjoy this chapter!**

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As Katniss opened the doors to the stairs and began to climb up to the roof, she wrung her hands together nervously. Cato had said to meet up on the roof after dinner, and she was eager to get away from the table. Dinner had been especially awkward with Haymitch knowing her plans for the night, and Peeta had guessed, but hadn't said anything, though it was clear he didn't approve of the plan. Effie, of course, had been completely oblivious to the tension at the table, and had rambled on and on about different people from the Capitol coming to talk to her about the tribute parade and how intriguing District Twelve was this year. Katniss couldn't bring herself to say anything polite, so she had just kept her mouth shut, and ate her food in silence, ignoring the looks Peeta gave her constantly.

She was shaken from her thoughts by footsteps clambering up the stairs behind her. "Katniss, wait!" a voice shouted.

"Peeta?" Katniss said, incredulous. What was he doing here?

Out of breath and panting heavily, he caught up to her. His blue eyes looked at her intensely while he tried to fix his hair that had flopped into his face. She waited for him to catch his breath, impatient that she had to wait. Cato would get pissed if she took too long. "Why are you following me?"

"Why are you helping him?" he simply asked her.

Blankly, she stared at him. "What?"

"Why are you helping him Katniss?" he said again. "He's a Career; he doesn't need your help. He's manipulating you in some way. I know it." The pleading in his voice was clear. He didn't want her to go.

Katniss was slowly growing irritated. Did he understand nothing that she had explained to him earlier? "It's not a one-way deal Peeta. I'm helping him, and he's helping me."

"But why?" he said, throwing his hands up, as if he couldn't understand her logic, only irritating her more.

"Why not, Peeta?" she snapped, letting her irritation show. "I'm not going to turn down help if he's offering it to me. I'll take all the help I can get – I need it!"

She regretted her harsh words as soon as they came out of her mouth, and seeing his hurt expression made her regret them even more. But before she could apologize, he sighed in defeat. "Whatever Katniss. I just… I just hope you know what you're doing." With those words he turned and headed back down the stairs, dragging his feet.

Katniss just stared after him, watching him disappear down the stairs. What the hell had just happened? She shook her head, muttering angrily under her breath. There was nothing wrong with her wanting to win. And honestly, if any other tribute who was skilled had offered to help her, she would have accepted their deal, just like she had with Cato. Sure, he may a Career, but he knew his stuff. She'd have to be dumb to decline his offer, especially since he had basically told her she'd be his first target if she refused. There was only one choice in the situation.

She climbed the last flight of stairs, and flung open the door. The cold breeze slapping her face was a refreshing change from the stuffy stairs where she had argued with Peeta. The air around her rejuvenated her, making her feel alive again. The stars above glittered brightly, shining down on the glistening city below them.

"So, you did decide to show up. I'm surprised." Cato's voice drifted lazily over to her, and she searched the rooftop for him. She saw him step out of the shadows to her right, and letting go of the door, walked over to him.

"Did you not expect me to come? It's not like I really had a choice or not." She snorted at the thought of turning Cato down. He would've hunted her down mercilessly. If she was going to survive these games, she knew she'd need him. Even if she hated to admit it.

Cato walked towards her, meeting her in the middle of the roof. He had changed clothes, like her. Both were wearing outfits similar to their training uniforms, but hers was a looser tank top, while he was wearing a tight black shirt, showing the bulging muscles in his arms. She couldn't help but stare and them, and Cato noticed, for he started smirking. He opened his mouth to comment on her attention to his muscular build, but Katniss cut him off quickly.

"Are we leaving now then? I don't want to be out too late tonight. I do want some sleep."

Cato's eyes stared into her, and Katniss felt herself caught up in the crystal blue gaze. They were pale blue, like a shallow pond. Hers met his, and she could see the intensity overflowing in them. "Well I guess we should be going then," he said, grinning. He walked towards the elevator, and Katniss followed, trailing him slightly.

He pressed the down button, then stood waiting for the door to open, impatiently twiddling his fingers. "Did you have trouble getting away from your mentor?" he suddenly asked, his back still to Katniss.

"Not really, he didn't care when I left," she said, carefully choosing her words. She didn't want to give too much away about how much she'd told Haymitch. Katniss had figured that the less Cato knew, the better. He didn't really need to know anything. All she was giving him was archery help, not details on her life.

He nodded. "Good. I was hoping he wasn't going to cause much trouble. He didn't seem to like me much," Cato snickered, clearly thinking after the tribute parade when Haymitch had pushed Katniss and Peeta into an elevator after seeing Cato glaring at them, his pale blue eyes hard as ice.

Katniss rolled her eyes. "He doesn't. But he's not going to keep me from getting help." As the elevator dinged, announcing its arrival, she stepped by him to get into the elevator first, and pressed the button for the level the training center was on.

Cato got in right after her, and the doors slid shut, then began its long descend downward. He leaned against the wall opposite of her, his arms crossed over his body. "So shall we start with the bow again?"

"As long as you don't start cursing again because you miss one target," she replied, a smile creeping onto her lips. She knew better than to make him mad, but his reaction had been over the top, and she found the fact he couldn't control his temper amusing. At least as long as the anger wasn't directed at her.

His face hardened, but he managed to keep his voice controlled as he spoke. "I'll try not to. Maybe if you actually help me though I won't lose it completely."

"I'll be able to help you, that's for sure. Then are we going to work on spear or knife throwing?" Katniss was eager to improve in both areas – her hands were clumsy with a knife, though she was alright with a spear. Every time she thought of a knife she thought of Cato's partner, Clove. She'd probably laugh out loud at Katniss' feeble attempts to fight with a knife. Thankfully, she wouldn't be joining them.

The elevator reached the bottom quickly, and Katniss stepped out immediately as the doors opened. The training area was dark, only a few lights were left on. Katniss preferred it that way; the harsh glare of the lights always bothered her. She completely forgot about Cato as she headed straight for the bow and arrows hanging on the cart.

"Wait up, Girl on Fire!" Cato called as Katniss left him behind. She paused, allowing him to catch up.

"Try keeping up," she suggested, continuing to walk. "I want to get work done tonight."

He snorted. "Someone's eager to get back to her room. Say, would you mind if I joined you?" he added a wink as he spoke.

She glared at him. "Don't make me shoot you," she snapped.

Cato merely laughed. "It's called a joke. Loosen up some; it may help your appearance. You're always acting like you have a stick up your ass or something."

"_What _did you just say?" she snarled, still holding the bow. Granted, it was now aimed at his chest.

"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. You can't take a single joke," he snickered, walking forward until his chest was almost touching the arrowhead. "How about you lower the bow? I would like to get some practice in with it."

She paused for a moment, then finally relaxed, lowering the bow and holding it out to him. "You're an asshole. You know that, right?"

He grinned, accepting it and stepping closer to her until there was barely any space between them. "Yeah, you've mentioned it a few times."

Katniss could barely breathe as she looked up into his face. Again his cocky smirk was plastered across his face, and a playful light was dancing in his eyes. Being this close to him was really starting to mess with her mind. Looking at his face again, she got the impression that being so close wasn't bothering him in the least. In fact, judging by his growing smirk, he almost seemed to be enjoying being this close to her.

Snapping out of it, she took a step back from Cato and turned towards the target across the room "Step over here and try shooting again. And this time, _don't_ lose your temper."

"Whatever you say, Girl on Fire," he was still smirking, and Katniss could tell he was still thinking about how close they'd been, and how she'd made it obvious how uncomfortable she'd been.

He snatched the arrow she'd been holding out of her hands, then positioned himself with the bow and arrow. Katniss could see the determination in his eyes, as they had that hard edge to them again. As he pulled the bowstring back, Katniss hoped he would at least get close to the target. She didn't want to have to deal with another one of his outbursts again.

_Twang._

She watched the arrow fly through the air and land solidly on the edge of the target. Cato cursed angrily.

Wanting to stop him from completely losing his temper, she stepped up next to him. "That wasn't bad," she said quickly, handing him another arrow. "This time, hold the bow steadier, and balance the arrow between your pointer and middle finger. It should fly straighter."

He grunted a response and pulled the arrow back once more. With another twang, it shot forward, right for the target. It hit about an inch closer to the bullseye. He triumphantly grinned, and looked at her. "I guess you do know what you're doing, Twelve."

"Try again. It could've been a lucky shot," she replied, handing him another arrow. This time it was her turn to smirk at him. As he wrapped his hand around it, his fingers brushed hers gently. She was surprised at how soft they were, as she expected them to be calloused and rough, seeing as he had probably held countless swords with those hands. Neither moved their hand, and just stared at each other in silence for a few moments, although it felt like a lifetime.

Finally Cato broke the silence. "Plan on letting go of that arrow anytime soon?" He had a smirk on his face again, though something seemed different. The arrogance was gone. Katniss felt herself flush red as she realized she still was holding onto the arrow.

"Sorry," she mumbled, finally releasing it. He smirked again.

"Any more advice for me on this go?" he looked at her expectantly.

Katniss thought for a minute. "No, I think you'll be good. Just remember to keep the bow steady. Don't let it wobble. And take deeps breaths."

He raised the bow once more, following her directions once again. As he finally let go, she closed her eyes. When she heard the thump, she stared in shock.

It had hit dead center in the bullseye.

Cato let out a celebratory yell as he saw his results. "Now I'm as good as you, Girl on Fire! You better watch out."

Something in the way he said that chilled her. He may have meant it as a joke, but Katniss knew that somewhere underneath that joke, deep down, he was serious. They may be helping each other, but both desperately wanted to win. Pushing her fears aside, she snorted. "That was your first one. We'll see tomorrow if it's actually helped at all."

"Sounds fine with me. You'll be surprised." He placed the bow back on the rack. "Now for spears?"

Part of Katniss was actually surprised. A small bit of her had just assumed he wouldn't keep his word. But if he was still offering, she was going to accept it. "Sure," she said. "Let me grab the arrows first. We don't want any Peacekeepers knowing we were here."

"They're not gonna care, you know that right? As long as we don't kill each other they aren't gonna do anything."

She glared at him. "I'm not taking any chances." She jogged over to the target on the wall, swiftly pulling the three arrows out of it. She turned around and was startled to see Cato right behind her.

"Thought I would offer a hand," he said, a smile forming on his lips. Katniss vaguely realized that he had trapped her between the wall and him, and he was still getting closer. "Need some help?"

All she could do was stare at his face. The vast pools of pale ice that were his eyes. The way his lips curved up ever so slightly, and how one side stretched back farther than the other. She was studying every detail with her eyes. And he was clearly doing the same, for his eyes wandered over her face also.

"That would be nice," she said, looking up at him.

He leaned in closer, until he was whispering in her ear. "I do believe it's your turn now too for some training. I'm more than willing to help." His seductive voice sent more shivers down her spine. He then straightened up, and took an arrow from her hand. "Let's go, we should probably wrap this up in an hour." He smirked, then headed back to the stand of arrows.

Katniss leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath. She hadn't realized she'd been holding it the whole time her and Cato had been so close. Now it was obvious he was playing games with her, especially after that. She twirled her braid in one hand as she also walked back to the bow stand. After placing the other arrows back, she headed over to the spears where Cato was already waiting.

She watched as he threw one, and it struck the target right in the center. She grimaced; she'd only thrown a spear earlier in the day, and it wasn't pretty.

"Alright Girl on Fire, let's see how good you are with a spear," he tossed one to her and she caught it easily.

"You know, you can call me Katniss," she said, as she positioned herself with the spear.

He grinned again. "Yeah, but I like the nickname. Besides, it pisses you off."

Scowling, Katniss turned her back to him. She gripped the spear nervously, knowing Cato was going to laugh as soon as he saw her throw the spear. Steadying her nerves, she brought her arm back, and threw it.

It hit the target with a thud, and Katniss frowned. It wasn't a bullseye, but it wasn't horrible. The spear had landed in the ring just outside the bullseye.

"Not bad," Cato said, coming over with another one." Let's work on your stance a little. Spread your legs a little more, like you're standing with a bow. And don't bring your arm back too far. Here, like this."

He demonstrated, sending another spear hurtling towards the target. Bullseye.

She tried again, and got closer. She seemed to be getting the hang of it when she felt Cato right behind her. "I'll help you a little more," he murmured into her ear. She could feel his muscles pressing against her back as he helped fix her stance. She wished she didn't, but Katniss loved feeling him so close to her. Her thoughts came screeching to a halt. She was in the Hunger Games, for crying out loud. There was no time and no room for those feelings. Yet even though she tried to suppress them, they just kept surfacing.

Katniss threw the spear one last time, and it landed with a satisfying thud a hair off of the bullseye. Cato grinned, stepping away from her. She missed his body heat as soon as the cold air of the training room rushed at her. "I guess you're pretty good at spear throwing too," he said.

She laughed. "Not as good as you, though."

The laughter in his eyes died a little. "That's only because I've been trained my whole life for this. If I wasn't good, I wouldn't be here."

She nodded, unable to understand his pain, but she knew enough to know it had affected him incredibly.

"Either way, you've still got me beat with a bow," he joked, trying to lighten the mood some.

"I've hunted since I was eleven, so I better be good," she said, then stopped, realizing what she had just told him.

His eyes widened in surprise. "You what?"

"Nothing," she said hastily. Desperate to get out of there, she glanced at the clock. "It's after two, should we wrap it up now?"

He knew it was to avoid what she had said, but he nodded anyways. "Yeah, I think we've been here long enough. We can do some more tomorrow, after the interviews." He went to grab the spears while Katniss stood there, staring around the training room. She'd forgotten that tomorrow was the last day before they were sent to the arena. The last day where she didn't have to worry about killing anyone. Now that Cato had brought it up, she was worried. After spending time with him, she knew he wasn't the brutal killing machine he tried to come off as. Knowing this, Katniss knew she would never be able to kill him. Which posed a problem, especially if she wanted to survive.

He came back over, holding the spears. After he put them up onto the rack, he glanced around the room just like her. "One more day," he said softly. Then he turned to her. "Come on, let's head back up."

She nodded, then the two made their way to the elevators. Now that they were done working, the silence of the training room became heavy, as if a thick blanket was laying over them, suffocating them. The elevator couldn't come soon enough, and Katniss all but leapt into it and pressed the button for her room. Cato didn't press his, and when she looked at him quizzically, he only said, "I wanna go to the roof again."

"It's peaceful up there," she said quietly.

"Yeah, it is." He looked at her again, just like the times when they were so close.

Katniss could barely breathe as he made his way to stand next to her. His shoulders brushed hers as he took up a spot on the wall right beside her. Puzzled, she looked at him.

"So… I know Clove is going to kill me for this. But I want you in the alliance." The words out of his mouth barely registered with her.

"What?" The elevator doors opened at Twelve, but she merely hit the close button, not ready to get off.

He rolled his eyes. "You heard me. You have a spot in the Career alliance."

The elevator doors opened onto the roof, and Cato let her step out first before following. They made their way to the same place they had sat the night before, and Katniss found herself staring at the lights of the Capitol once more. The roof was so silent, so deserted. Yet she couldn't shake the feeling that countless other tributes had sat up there, possibly in the same spot as them, contemplating the same thoughts as them. Most of the visitors had died, Katniss knew that. The knowledge of knowing she was sitting where others who had passed before had sat was eerie, and did not help the chills that were soon running down her back once more.

"What if I refuse?" she asked, looking at him seriously. He may have been joking and flirtatious down at the training center, but here he was all business.

"I think you know," he said quietly, almost to himself. She hated the fact he was right. She truly only had one option if she wanted to survive.

"What about Peeta?" she asked. She knew the idea was absurd, but she couldn't abandon the baker's son to death at the hands of the Careers, and possibly her. He had saved her life before, and she still owed him for that.

He snorted. "Are you serious? No way. I'm already stretching it with you."

"Peeta's strong!" she argued. "At least let me ask him about it."

Cato sighed, his eyes lingering over her face. "Fine. I can't promise you he'll be safe though. I can't protect both of you."

Something in his words struck a chord in Katniss, but she was too tired to push further. "Thank you."

Cato simply nodded, then stood up. "We should probably head back, before our mentors start to wonder. It's getting really late now."

She couldn't argue, as it had to be past two thirty by now. "So tomorrow?" she questioned.

He sighed, running a hand through his already unkempt hair. "I'm gonna have to explain to everyone else tomorrow at some point about you joining. Leave lunch early, and I'll talk to you in the hallway then."

She nodded, although she was worried about the other Careers. There's no way they'd accept her into their alliance, though she hoped Cato could convince them. As she thought about it more, she knew it was the smart decision to make. "I want the bow though." she said suddenly.

He smirked. "I figured as much. I'll see what I can do, though I'm sure I can get it for you."

She got up and headed for the elevator. "Thanks." He nodded as he walked over to join her, standing close to her once more. By this point Katniss had gotten used to the closeness, and even found herself enjoying it. They hadn't spoken about it, but there seemed to be some unwritten pact between the two of them. They stayed close, no matter what.

The elevator doors slid open, and she found herself staring in shock, though the same shock was evident in the person's eyes opposite of her.

"Haymitch?" she said, incredulously. Beside her, Cato visibly stiffened.

Haymitch's eyes darkened when he saw the close proximity between the two tributes. Without a word he grabbed Katniss' arm and dragged her into the elevator, leaving Cato standing outside.

"Take the stairs," he said gruffly. "I need to talk to her."

Cato didn't have a chance to respond before the doors slid shut on his face.

Now Haymitch turned to Katniss, visibly angry. "Now what the hell have you gotten yourself into?"

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**It's not too much of a cliff-hanger :) Please review! I love hearing your thoughts :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to update. Last week was so crazy for me, but luckily it's over. It was such a horrible few days and I was having a lot of personal issues with stuff in my life, and I just didn't have time or motivation to write. There isn't as much Cato/Katniss in this chapter, and I apologize, it's mainly due to the stress of last week. Though luckily things are looking much better, and I only have about sixteen days left of high school :D Meaning I will have tons of time to write and update! I should be able to get more in now that my schedule is basically freed up. **

**To justafan Eyrie HG fan and Priscilla X. Silver: Thank you guys for your reviews on the last chapter! I'm sorry I couldn't respond to them, but I'm glad you all enjoyed it :) Thank you so much for your reviews! :)**

**Okay, enough of my rambling, here's Chapter Seven! Enjoy :)**

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Katniss had never seen Haymitch this angry before. Granted, she hadn't known him personally for very long, but the look of fierce anger in his face had her a little indignant. And frightened, though she was doing her best to hide it.

"What the hell do you think you're doing with that tribute?" he snarled again. Surprisingly, Katniss couldn't really smell alcohol on his breath, which meant he was relatively sober. Which meant he wouldn't forget this come morning.

"What does it look like I was doing?" she retorted, making him angrier. "We were training together, and we had just finished."

Haymitch let out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh really. So you guys were training on the roof together? Because the last time I checked, you couldn't do anything up there. Technically you aren't supposed to even be up there!"

"We went up there to talk. Why do you think I was with him?" she snapped. "We'd finished training and we went up to the roof, then we were coming back down."

His eyes bored into hers, and Kantiss could tell he was holding back so many curses as the doors slid open with a ping. They stepped out into the penthouse, which was completely empty. Katniss wasn't surprised, as it was well after two in the morning. "This conversation isn't over," he hissed, keeping his voice down. "We're having a nice long talk tomorrow before you go to training again. In fact, we can have it on the roof." He snorted in laughter at his own cleverness, then walked off, leaving her to fume over what had transpired.

Why on earth would Haymitch think that they had done anything but train? She was so furious about how he had just attacked them, and dragged her off. He didn't even bother listening to her explain. Well if Haymitch wanted to be like that, so be it. She walked straight down the hallway to her room and slammed the door behind her. Not even attempting to change, she simply leapt into bed, and closed her eyes, hoping this whole mess could just dissolve into thin air.

All too soon, a harsh knocking was waking her up. "Who is it and what do you want?" she mumbled, keeping her eyes shut. She didn't know what time it was, but it was too early.

"Sweetheart, I suggest you open the door before I force it open," Haymitch responded dryly.

Mumbling under her breath some more, Katniss stumbled to the door, opened it, then quickly plopped back into the bed.

"No no no, you are up for good now," he said, and grabbed her leg, dragging her and the comforter unceremoniously from bed.

Katniss groaned, and picked herself up off the floor. "What?"

He sat on the ground across from her and looked her straight in the eye. "Explanation. Now."

"Fine," she said. "We went down to the training room to work with weapons, afterwards we were heading up and he asked me to be in their alliance. I missed the stop, we went to the roof, talked some, and then were heading back to our floors when you so kindly interrupted." She finished the story with sarcasm. Haymitch was not getting off easy for that uncalled for interruption.

His face was a mixture of emotions that Katniss had trouble reading, though she did decipher shock and apprehension in the puzzle. "He offered you a spot in the alliance? What did you say?"

"Did I really have a choice?"

He laughed. "True. So you accepted?"

She yawned, still drowsy from the little amount of sleep she'd managed to get. "Yeah, and I asked if Peeta could be in it too. Cato didn't promise anything though."

"I get the feeling Peeta isn't going to be interested," Haymitch said carefully, as if he was afraid of Katniss getting angry. He had a suspicion the baker's boy wouldn't want to be with the killers, judging from his early comments about them.

She frowned, but only managed to look ridiculous, with one eye still shut. "I can still ask him. But I think you're right."

"Sweetheart, you have managed to get yourself into a load of trouble already, and we haven't even gotten into the arena yet." Haymitch laughed, then stood up, dusting off his pants. "I'd talk to Peeta as soon as possible. And I can guarantee the other Careers aren't going to be happy with Cato's idea, so just stay away from them as much as possible." He paused for a moment, then seemed to choose his next words carefully. "I'm not sure what game this Career is playing, but I'd watch your back for sure. I want to see you make it out of that arena in one piece, so just be careful around them, including him. I don't care what he tells you; don't trust him completely. He's made it pretty obvious he sees you as a threat, and he could very easily turn around and stab you if it means he could win. Just watch yourself."

Katniss nodded, knowing how deadly the situation was becoming. Not only did she have to worry about surviving against twenty-three other tribute, but she had to worry about her so-called allies turning on her at any moment. "I'll keep that in mind. And Haymitch, thank you."

He simply smiled at her. "I'm your mentor; it's my job to keep you safe."

"I thought you were only here for the refreshments though?" she asked with a laugh, remembering their encounter on the train.

He grinned, an honest, full smile. "Just go get ready. I'll see you in a little bit. And you better do some explaining to Peeta when you get out."

"Of course," she said. "I'll mention it at breakfast."

"Sounds good." Haymitch paused in the doorframe. "See you soon."

After Haymitch left, Katniss quickly jumped in the shower, allowing the hot water to run down her back, temporarily erasing the flurry of worries from her mind. For this small moment, she would allow herself to simply enjoy the warm water, which was a small break from the problems she would have to deal with later today.

Finally, she left her room, dressed in another identical training outfit. Even if the Capitol specialized in ridiculous fashions, it clearly wanted the tributes to look the same each and every day.

At the table it was only Peeta, which Katniss found strangely suspicious. _Damn you, Haymitch. _She thought to herself as she walked towards it. She knew she had to face Peeta at some point, and it might as well be now. She still felt awkward about what had happened on the stairs, and she knew this whole alliance thing would just make it worse.

"Hey," she greeted him as she sat down, helping herself to some bread and jam.

"Hey," he said in return, smiling as she sat across from him. If there had been any problems between them since last night, he acted like nothing was wrong. "You ready for training today?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so," she said, desperately pulling something up. "And uh, before Haymitch brings this up, we should probably discuss our plans for the games."

He looked at her puzzled. "What?"

Katniss could already feel this discussion going south, and she was starting to get worried. "Our plans. For the games. I don't know what all is possible, but we may have a spot in the Career alliance." She let her words hang above them for a few seconds.

He paused, his piece of toast halfway in his mouth and about ready to be eaten. Slowly, he placed it back onto the plate in front of him. "Katniss, what are you talking about? You mean with District 1 and 2? No way. It's a trap. I already warned you about this. There's no way it's legitimate. They'd turn on us in an instant."

"It's safer than facing them alone! Think about it Peeta, we'd at least be safe to begin with. Then once things start falling apart, we get out." She was already growing frustrated at his stubbornness to accept the idea these killers could help them out some. "The Careers always go after other tributes first. And then they'll turn on themselves, eliminating practically the entire field. It's a good idea."

He shook his head. "No. I refuse to join them. I'd rather be on my own than fight with them. Think of how everyone in District 12 will feel, seeing us fighting with the enemy."

"I think they'd be happier to see us return alive, than starve to death by ourselves," she snapped, throwing down her piece of bread. "It's fine, don't worry about joining. I'll just tell Cato you're out." With that, she stormed away from the table towards the elevator.

She slapped the button on the elevator, waiting impatiently for the lift to arrive. Once it beeped its arrival, she stepped on, and smacked the button to send her down to the training room. She had no interest staying at the table anymore, not after Peeta had so stubbornly refused the alliance.

Once Katniss got to the training room, she checked to make sure no one else was there before marching over to the archery station, even though she'd been there only hours before. Picking up a bow and a few arrows, she shot at the targets multiple times, feeling the anger leave her with each arrow she shot. As she felt herself calm down, she cleaned up that station and proceeded to sit around at the center before the other tributes arrived. For the moment, she would allow herself the luxury to get lost in her thoughts of home, of Prim, of the woods.

The sudden beeping of the elevator disrupted her reminiscing though, and she looked up, frustrated. Nothing seemed to be going well for her, and it was barely eight in the morning. Katniss certainly hadn't been expecting Cato to come walking out of the elevator though.

"Where's your buddy?" he called out, sauntering over to sit on the ground next to her.

She snorted. "Probably still upstairs. I don't know; I left about half an hour ago."

"So I take it your partner didn't take your alliance idea too well?" Katniss could already see the smirk on his face forming.

She sighed, not sure whether it was out of irritation or just exhaustion. Now that she was finally sitting down, the lack of sleep was starting to affect her. "No, he stubbornly refused to even consider the idea. So will I still have a spot in it?"

His facial expression unreadable, he nodded. "Yeah, I just need to talk with District One. I already discussed it with Clove." He laughed. "She's not very happy." He turned his face to the side slightly to show Katniss a slightly purple mark on his jawbone.

"She hit you?" Katniss said, shocked. "I thought tributes weren't allowed to fight with each other."

He smirked again. "She punched me. After she chucked a knife at my head."

"I'm not so sure I want to be in an alliance with her if she's going to be throwing knifes before we're already in the games."

He shook his head, laughing. "Nah, you'll be fine. She's just pissed. Once she knows you're good with a bow she'll be impressed. Clove's just a bitch sometimes.

Katniss was still uncertain. To her, Clove was sounding more and more like a deranged killer. Maybe she would be better off alone, or with Peeta.

Cato rolled his eyes. "Chill out, she'll get over herself. Just don't screw up today with the private sessions, alright? This is probably your only chance of impressing Marvel and Glimmer."

"I wasn't planning on messing up, but thanks," she said, annoyed again.

He smirked again, giving her that lopsided grin she was growing to like. "I figured as much. Alright well, have fun training. Don't be surprised if Clove's watching you either," he laughed, then got up and walked towards the other side of the circle, as if they hadn't talked at all.

Katniss was sort of glad he had left; she needed more time to think to herself. She realized Haymitch and her hadn't really discussed what she was going to do in her private sessions with the Game Makers. Running out of breakfast early had clearly screwed her over.

Luckily, the next tribute out of the elevator was Peeta, who made his way over to Katniss. "Haymitch was furious you'd left before talking with him," he said as soon as he sat down next to her. "He wanted to talk to you about the private sessions."

"Yeah, I realized that after I left," she mumbled. "What'd he say?"

"Just to impress them. Show our skills." Peeta made air quotations as he said the last part. "You may have some skills, but I have none."

She looked at him, incredulous. "Are you crazy? You can practically throw a hundred pound weight over your shoulder like it's a brick. That's definitely a skill. And you can paint. You better show them both of those!"

"I will, I will. It just doesn't seem like much when others can hurl knives from a hundred feet away." He sighed. "It's just frustrating."

Katniss looked at him, and studied his face. Peeta looked so defeated, as if he had already given up. And seeing as they hadn't even made it into the arena yet, that was a problem. "Okay, first off Clove's been trained for years. And second, she's crazy. So you can't really compare yourself to her."

Peeta snorted. "I guess."

"Seriously! We're going to be fine." She said this with as much conviction as she could muster.

Tributes had been filing into the center while they'd been talking, and soon everyone was there. Katniss nodded to show they'd talk later, and then they both stood up to listen to instructions once more. Across the room from them, Katniss noticed Clove glaring at her, her eyes narrowed. Katniss kept her gaze on the girl, eliciting a smirk out of Clove.

As the trainer started talking about the private sessions, Katniss scanned the rest of the tributes. Most seemed nervous and anxious, but of course the Careers didn't at all. Cato had a full blown grin on his face, as if he had already won the hunger games. Glimmer and Marvel both kept looking at each other with knowing smirks, and Clove was barely able to contain her excitement. Katniss rolled her eyes at the four of them. Of course they were looking forward to this; they had been looking forward to this their whole lives.

Basically they had the morning to train, and then would begin their private sessions with the Gamemakers after lunch. District One would go first, and end with District Twelve. Once they were dismissed for training again, Katniss and Peeta headed to the knot tying station, and planned to work their way around the center one last time.

Lunch came all too quickly for Katniss. She and Peeta had been to most stations, mainly refreshing their skills. As they sat alone again off to the side, she watched the Careers sit at the center table and laugh loudly at almost everything. Peeta was unusually silent, and she assumed he was lost in thought about the private sessions that were coming up. For once she wasn't really stressed about them too much. A commotion from the Career table sent her attention back to them. When she looked, it seemed that Marvel and Glimmer were very angry about something. When Marvel pointed in her direction, her stomach dropped. It was clear they were angry about her. Seeing as the room was completely silent, it was fairly easy to hear their raised whispers.

"You _what?" _Glimmer hissed, anger seeping into her voice. "Cato, you're out of your mind. She's from District Twelve. I doubt she can even throw a spear! She's not in the alliance. No way."

Cato snapped back at them, clearly not wanting to deal with either of them. "I don't care what you think. I know she's worthy. She'll only benefit us. So shut up and deal with it."

"Who made you leader already?" Marvel retorted. "I don't recall assigning you."

"Oh, so you're going to lead the alliance? Not a chance. Cato's the best out of all of us, so just accept it." Clove said. "He could snap you in half right here if he wanted to."

Marvel's face turned red, but before he could speak, Cato stopped him. "After these assessments and we see her score you'll see why she's in our alliance. You better hope she doesn't beat you." His smirk slid onto his face once more.

This time it was Glimmer's turn to turn red. "There is no way some tribute from District Twelve is going to beat me."

Cato stood up, ready to leave. "We'll see about that Glimmer." Clove stayed sitting while he went and deposited his tray, then left the dining hall.

Katniss stood up suddenly, startling Peeta. "I need to go wash my hands," she explained. "They're sticky from the paint station."

He nodded. "I'll still be here when you come back."

She hurried out of the room, ignoring the glares sent from the Career table. Walking into the hall, she saw Cato leaning against the opposite wall. "I was wondering if you'd show up," he said, grinning.

She walked towards him, but stopped a foot away. "So I take it District One isn't too happy?"

He frowned. "They're pissed. But they'll get over it. Just don't screw up the session with the Gamemakers, or otherwise I won't be able to help you."

"I already said I'd do fine," she snapped. "I know what I'm doing."

Cato laughed, then righted himself and walked around her, heading for the doors. "I guess I'll see you later. Probably after the interviews. Meet me on the roof?"

"Yeah. Good luck," she said, before turning her back on him and walking towards the bathroom.

"You too," he called to her. "Don't disappoint me."

She turned around and smiled. "I won't."

When she came out from the hallway, District One had already been called in, and Cato had also disappeared. She joined Peeta against the wall, waiting.

"Are you nervous?" she asked him, wringing her hands together.

He looked at her, concern in his blue eyes. "Yeah, I am. I just don't want to screw up."

"You're not going to screw up. Do what Haymitch told you. Show your strength, paint some camouflage." She smiled at him. "You're going to do great."

He smiled, grateful. "Thanks, Katniss. You're going to do great too."

She laughed, "Hopefully."

As the time ticked by, more and more tributes disappeared through the other set of doors in the hall. When the trainer finally called Peeta's name, he looked at her. "Good luck, Katniss."

"You too, Peeta." She smiled as he stood and walked through the doors.

After about fifteen minutes, the trainer came back out for her. Katniss got up and slowly walked through the doors. This was it. Her future in the games was about to be decided. And she hoped she wouldn't screw it up.

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**A/N: Yeah that ending was kind of lame, but it's really late and I need sleep! Chapter Eight will have the results of the private sessions, the interviews, and a lot more Cato/Katniss :)**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review, I love hearing what people have to say :) and have a lovely day!**


	8. Chapter 8

**IMPORTANT A/N: **

**Hey everyone, I'm really sorry this so much later than I promised most of you, and it's a poorly written chapter. I don't know how else to say this, but I've been dealing with some bad personal issues this week, and they're starting to interfere with my writing of this story. What I'm basically saying is I can't continue writing this story right now. I'm not able to put the amount of effort needed into writing this to the best of my abilities, and I'm not one to be content with posting work I didn't try my hardest on. The issues I'm dealing with currently are preventing me from writing this story the way I've imagined it going, and until these problems are resolved I'm going to struggle to write anything with this. This chapter alone took well over a week, and I'm so disappointed in it. I'm not sure how often I'm going to be updating from now on. :/ I'm hoping once I graduate and summer comes around I will be alright. That's the best case scenario right now - and I'll be able to update and finish the story the way I want it to go.**

**I'm really sorry about all of this. It pains me so much to know I can't put 100% into my writing right now. I will be back to this eventually, hopefully in a week or so. I am not giving up on this story! I will be back, and this will be completed. :)**

**On a less serious note, I wanted to thank each and every one of my reviewers. My days were a little brighter when I received an email notification on my phone, and reading all of your reviews made me so happy. Thank you for taking time out of your busy days to write me feedback; I know how busy life is, and it means the world to me that you took time to review my work. Thank you so much!**

**Okay. I am now done talking. Please enjoy this chapter, it's not my best but I tried hard on it. When I can dedicate more time to this I will most likely revise it :) Thanks again to all my reviewers! I'll see you all around :)**

**~books-n-cookies**

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Katniss sat on the couch, ignoring Effie's squawking and Cinna's calming voice, telling Effie to relax. Effie, of course, simply ignored Cinna's words and continued to fret.

"I cannot believe you did that Katniss! What were you thinking? Shooting an arrow at the Game Makers is just- it's just-…" she paused for a moment, catching her breath before continuing her rant. "It's just horrible manners!" Her wig was starting to slide off, and she paused in her rampage to adjust it on her head once more.

Unable to contain herself any longer, Katniss took her head out of her hands. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I just lost my temper. They weren't paying attention to me at all, they were all focusing on some stupid stuffed pig."

"So you shoot an arrow at them?" Effie shrieked. "No!" She threw her hands over her head, still stomping around the floor in her ridiculously high heels. Katniss simply rolled her eyes at her reaction.

Katniss hadn't paid much attention to Cinna until she felt his reassuring hand on her back. She looked at him, and saw his eyes filled with concern. She smiled weakly at him, unable to speak. He had been the first one she'd told about the disastrous session.

_Katniss burst out of the elevator, breathless, and dashed down the hallway, nearly running Cinna completely over. _

"_Katniss, what's wrong?" he asked, grabbing her shoulders gently._

"_I just blew my session, look, I just don't want to talk about it now," she said, avoiding eye contact and looking straight at her feet. She felt so guilty. Here was someone who had tried so hard to give her a chance in these stupid games, and she had tossed it aside like some worthless item. How could she have been so stupid?_

_Cinna didn't say anything, but proceeded to lead her to the table to sit. An Avox soon brought plates for them, and they both began to have some soup. As Katniss calmed down, Cinna quietly asked, "How bad?"_

_Even as he spoke, Katniss knew Cinna was the one person she could trust, so she decided to tell him everything. "It was bad," she said quietly, staring down at her bowl. "I walked in, and shot a few arrows at the targets. I missed my first one and I guess they stopped paying attention. I hit every other bullseye. Nine perfect shots and they didn't see a single one." Her voice had started to shake quietly with anger. "So I got mad. And I grabbed another arrow and shot the apple right out of the stuffed pig's mouth someone had ordered. If they thought I'd be okay with having them pay more attention to a dead pig, they were wrong." She sighed as she finished telling Cinna. Her heart ached to think about the score she was going to receive. _

_Cinna placed his hand over hers gently. "Katniss, don't worry. I'm sure you didn't do as bad as you think you did. They would've certainly seen the bullseyes after you left. Don't worry too much. And if Haymitch or Effie start to give you grief, I'll get them to quiet down."_

_Katniss smiled at him, grateful. "Thank you," she whispered. He smiled in response._

She snapped back to reality as Haymitch and Peeta walked into the room, most likely drawn by Effie's commotion. Katniss really hoped she'd settle down; she was probably causing enough noise to alert the entire building to the ruckus occurring on the twelfth.

"There you are, Haymitch! I'm sure you've heard what's happened with Katniss already." Effie switched her focus to the District Twelve mentor, who for once didn't seem too drunk. Instead, he looked pleased.

"Of course I've heard. And sweetheart, congratulations." He smirked at her while Effie's mouth dropped.

"Congratulations! Haymitch, she shot an _arrow _at the Game Makers! That is not something to be congratulating! It's horrid ma-"

"I don't care what type of manners it was, it was phenomenal. You certainly impressed them." Katniss had never seen Haymitch laughing as much as he was now. A huge smile was completely lighting up his face. Peeta stood behind him, a smile also gracing his. He made eye contact with Katniss and nodded. She smiled gratefully back.

Effie only huffed in response, and then marched over next to Cinna and sat down. "Well they'll be announcing the scores soon. I guess we'll see then whether the Game Makers care about manners."

Katniss rolled her eyes. She hoped Effie would drop the whole "manners" thing soon, as it was just beginning to frustrate her more.

The wall across from the couch came to life suddenly, with Caesar Flickerman's sitting behind a reporter's desk blinking on the wall screen. Peeta quickly sat down, while Haymitch moved behind the couch to watch the show.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the presentation of this year's tribute scores! These scores are based on the Game Makers evaluations throughout the past few days, though the majority of the score is based on the private sessions. As usual, the lowest is a zero, and the highest is a twelve." His animated voice was so engaging; even Katniss found herself leaning forward to hear the scores.

She wasn't surprised when the Marvel and Glimmer both got a score of nine. When a score of ten appeared for both Cato and Clove, she was surprised it wasn't higher. Though of course they had the highest out of the rest of the districts after them – the closed was Thresh's nine.

"And now for District Twelve."

Katniss felt herself tense up, mostly in anticipation of her score. She knew her outcome in the games was going to be completely affected by this score – if it was low as she suspected it would be, her alliance with Cato and the Careers would be dissolved instantly, and her chances of surviving would plummet. But if she did decent, she might still have a chance.

"Peeta Mellark. An eight." Caesar's face was lit up with excitement; usually the lower districts barely got above a seven.

"Congratulations, Peeta!" Effie was beyond thrilled at his score also. Haymitch merely grinned, as he was most likely still drunk, and Cinna clapped him on the shoulder. Peeta just sat there, grinning wildly. An eight was sure to get him sponsors, possibly enough to get him to the top five.

"And last, but certainly not least, Katniss Everdeen," Of course Caesar drew out her last name, and stretched it out for quite awhile. "A score of– " he paused, and his eyebrows shrunk together as he squinted at his paper. Katniss sighed, burying her head on her knees. "A score of eleven!"

"What?" she said, snapping her head back up. Caesar's face was beaming down from the wall as he slowly faded into oblivion, leaving only the stone wall facing her.

"Sweetheart, clearly those game makers loved you," Haymitch said, an ecstatic look gracing his scruffy features. Katniss smiled at him, for once feeling relieved. Cinna too congratulated her, and she felt a wave of happiness as she knew that she hadn't let him down.

Effie looked stunned. Her mouth opened and shut rapidly, though no sound came out, making her look like a ridiculous fish. Katniss couldn't help but feel some arrogance at her score – Effie had basically thought she would receive a two. Finally, Effie found words. "Well, Katniss, that is quite marvelous," she stood up from the couch, wobbling slightly. "I believe that this is indeed going to be a wonderful year! Congratulations to the both of you."

Katniss turned to Peeta. "Good job. An eight is really impressive." He smiled slightly back at her.

"You too, Katniss. And eleven is great. You're definitely going to get a ton of sponsors with that score."

She laughed nervously. Sponsors meant that people actually liked her and wanted her to win, and she knew that no one would support a District Twelve tribute, no matter what score they'd received.

Haymitch began talking once more. "Both of you did a great job. You definitely gave a great impression. Hopefully sponsors will support you. Of course, the interviews tonight will also help solidify any possible sponsorships. You guys are going to shine tonight, just like on the first night."

Katniss froze, unable to move. "Interviews? What?"

Haymitch stared at her in disbelief. "You know, the interviews they do every year with the tributes?"

Not wanting to look stupid, she nodded. She knew what they were; she just didn't think that they would be so soon. "Of course I do. I just didn't realize they were today."

"The games start tomorrow morning sweetheart; so they've got to do them soon," he said. "Now, before we start working on angles for the interviews, go take a short break. We've got time to spare, and you both look like you need a few minutes.

Both tributes nodded, and walked to their doors. Katniss planned on sleeping, and that was exactly what happened. As soon as her body made contact with the bed, she was out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Well, it's been about 5 months since I posted anything. Wow.**

**Anyways, I apologize for the long wait. College was much much busier than I thought it was going to be, but I'm finally getting used to balancing my time. Also, I apologize for the inconsistency of this chapter; I know it's not my best, but it's been awhile since I've written anything. Hopefully it'll be okay for now :F **

**I also want to thank anyone who reviewed this story since I last checked anything - I read through all the reviews, and honestly, they're what got me to write another chapter. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't thank you guys enough, it really made me smile :) **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"She got a _what?_" Clove shrieked, leaping up from her seat on the couch. Cato was still speechless, staring at the now blank screen where Caesar's face had been with his mouth wide open. He had been sure that both he and Clove would get the highest scores out of all the tributes, but apparently he had been wrong. Very wrong.

Clove had reached the level of a full-blown fit as Cato continued to sit there. "Cato, how the _hell_ did she get that score? We didn't even get 11's! We got 10's. There's no way that's right. They had to have messed it up." When she noticed he still wasn't paying attention to her, she punched him, hard, spurring him from his thoughts.

"Clove, calm down. Now." He snapped, even though he was still fuming himself. How had she beaten them? Sure, she was good at archery, but it wasn't anything that spectacular. She must have done something really good if they gave her that high of a score. "We'll find out soon enough how she beat us. Just be glad she's in the alliance."

Clove's face was still blotchy and red as she spoke. "I don't want her in the alliance. I want to know how she beat us. She's from District Twelve, for crying out loud. How?"

Cato sighed, running a hand through his hair. If Clove was this pissed, Marvel and Glimmer were going to be way worse. He already knew that both of them had a bad temper already. Even if Katniss had beaten all of them, she was clearly an important piece in the games if the game makers were willing to give her an 11. "First off, she's staying in the alliance. Second, she got that 11 for a reason, not just because the game makers felt like handing one out this year. She's staying with us."

Clove said nothing, only snorting a response and crossed her arms over her chest. Their mentors finally spoke up, after only observing the argument with slight smirks on their faces. "Cato's right," Brutus said. "Even if I hate to admit it, allowing that scum in your alliance is only going to help you." Enobaria nodded, then added, "Besides, that way you can keep her close and kill her when she becomes useless to you guys."

Her comment seemed to lift Clove's spirits, for her eyes lit up a bit before she turned to Cato. "Find out how she got it," she snapped before walking away.

Cato sighed again as she left the room. It was going to be impossible to convince Glimmer and Marvel to keep Katniss in the alliance if he couldn't even convince Clove. _Katniss, what the hell are you doing?_

* * *

Katniss had been pushed around like a circus animal all day. Haymitch and Effie had both attempted to make her "presentable" for the interviews tonight, but all she'd managed to do was make Effie upset and piss Haymitch off to the point where he called her a slug and left. Cinna was the only one who actually gave her advice, and then calmed her down. He somehow managed to convince her that she'd be alright. And then when she saw the dress, Katniss knew she couldn't let any of them down.

Now that the interviews were going to be starting soon, all the tributes were gathering backstage with their mentors, finishing up last minute preparations. Katniss has spotted Clove glaring at her, and the fact that they were both wearing similar dresses didn't seem to help Clove's mood at all.

Distracted by Clove, she didn't notice when someone came up behind her and grabbed her arm, dragging her off to the side away from all the tributes. She glanced up to see that it was Cato, looking fairly displeased.

"What are you doing?" she said, wrenching her arm out of his grip. She noticed he was wearing a dark grey suit that definitely brought out the deep blue in his eyes. There was no denying it; he looked especially attractive tonight. She felt herself starting to flush as they continued to stare at each other.

"How did you get that 11?" he demanded, still looking angry.

"That's what this is all about? So Clove hates me more because I beat her?" Katniss said, looking around. No one else seemed to be paying attention to the two of them off to the side. And their situation was helped by the fact that they were partially down a side corridor, so they were fairly hidden from any other tributes.

Cato laughed. "Yeah, she definitely hates you now. She wants to know how you managed to pull off an 11 though. So are you gonna tell me how you did it?"

"Don't you already know?" Katniss asked, looking confused. "You know that archery is the only thing I'm good at here. I guess they were impressed or something."

For a moment Cato's face didn't change, but suddenly he grabbed her shoulders and pushed her backwards into the wall behind them, successfully pinning her into place. Katniss squirmed, trying to break free, but Cato didn't budged, and only smirked at her struggles.

"Now are you going to tell me?" He said, the smirk wide on his face. He clearly felt comfortable in this position, with her stuck between him and the wall.

"Let me go and I will," she snapped, still trying to get out of his grip.

He leaned closer, closing the gap between them. Once again, Katniss felt her breath catch in her throat as he pushed himself closer so he was only inches away from her face. A small smile crept into his features as he felt her tense. "Now, why would I do that?"

"Cato, please," she begged. "I already told you. I shot arrows, and they liked it apparently."

He leaned closer, until his mouth was hovering next to her ear. She felt the gel in his hair as it brushed her face, and his breath tickled her skin. "I think there's more to the story, that's for sure. And I think you're going to tell me. Remember, we're in an alliance. So you're going to tell me whether you want to or not."

Katniss definitely felt the threat behind his words. "Fine. I'll tell you after the interviews. People are going to start getting suspicious that we've been gone for so long. And I don't think you want to make Haymitch angry again." She hoped that giving in to telling him would help, but he only gave another smirk and leaned into her again.

"Alright fire girl, meet me on the rooftop after the interviews. We'll do some nice talking then."

She knew he lingered against her neck longer than he needed to, but she didn't mind. And that's what scared her. She enjoyed being so close to Cato. Even though they were about to be thrown into an arena in a fight to the death, she still wanted to get to know him, and be close to him. "Okay. I'll see you afterwards," she said.

Finally he released her shoulders and backed away, allowing her to stand and face him. "Oh and Katniss," he said as he started to walk away, "I really like the dress." Flashing her one last smirk, he turned around and headed back towards the line of tributes.

Katniss stood there for a few more minutes, taking in what had just happened. What games were they playing with each other? But he was right, she had taken a spot in his alliance, and so she did owe him an answer. But his games were starting to confuse her more and more. She made her way back to Peeta and Haymitch in the line. Peeta seemed clueless that she'd been gone for at least 10 minutes, but Haymitch was staring at her as if he'd already figured out what happened.

"So, Katniss, where'd you disappear to just now?" he asked, his gaze hard. Peeta glanced over at well, but he simply smiled at her.

She looked directly at Haymitch as she spoke. "I ran to the bathroom quickly. I figured I might as well before everyone starts their interviews."

Peeta seemed to believe her, for he smiled again and said, "Smart thinking Katniss. We can probably learn about the tributes more from these interviews, right Haymitch?" he looked expectantly at Haymitch, who was still eyeing Katniss.

"That's right," he said, carefully, still staring directly at Katniss.

Luckily, before Haymitch could say anything, music started playing, signaling the beginning of the interviews. He looked at both of them and said, "Just remember what we talked about. You guys will be great." Then he walked away to find a spot in the crowd to sit.

Relieved that he was finally gone, Katniss sighed. Peeta looked at her. "You alright?"

"Yeah, sorry. I'm just a little nervous." She shifted in her heels, trying to regain feeling in them.

He smiled again. "Don't worry, you'll be fine."

Katniss watched as Glimmer went first, and then Marvel. Both the tributes from District 1 seemed extremely confident in themselves, and sure of their skills. Glimmer radiated confidence in her short, frilly dress, and Marvel showed no signs of nervousness as he chatted animatedly with Caesar. Next on stage came Clove, dressed in a very orange dress that portrayed her as a delicate girl, even though Katniss knew better.

"Clove, you look absolutely gorgeous tonight!" cooed Caesar. "What do you think of the dress?"

She smiled elusively, showing off a mysterious side to her. "Well, if you mean how I like dressing like a pumpkin, not very much."

At her response, the crowd laughed, and she got a chuckle out of Caesar too. "Even so, that dress is sure beautiful."

They continued the interview, and Katniss saw that the tribute was not only elusive, but extremely sarcastic. And of course, deadly. She was sure to mention her love of knife-throwing, showing a true smile at the thought. The crowd took it all in.

When Cato walked on, it was almost the same reaction, but even louder. Most of the Capitol women screamed his name, but he only waved at them all, alluring yet distant.

"Cato, Cato, how are you doing?" Caesar exclaimed, still animated and cheerful. Katniss had no idea how he did it year after year, especially when he knew only one of the tributes he interviewed would come out alive.

"I'm doing great, Caesar. I'm ruthless, vicious and I'm ready to go," he said confidently, leaning back in the chair and crossing his legs. He flashed another smile, making the women in the crowd go wild.

His words sank into Katniss, and filled her head. This was the side of Cato that was going to come out during the games – the boy who was ruthless and would stop at nothing to win. How could she have let him get into her head like she did? His words repeated like a drum in her head, "I'm ruthless. I'm vicious. I'm ready to go."

After Cato, the interviews blew by. The girl from District 5 stuck out as a serious competitor, along with the boy from District 11, who was almost as large, if not taller, than Cato. Then the girl from 11 was almost a carbon copy of Prim, making Katniss's heart stop. How had someone not stepped in to take her place?

Suddenly, Peeta was nudging her forward. "Katniss, it's your turn." She froze, annoying the usher who was there to escort her onto the stage. Impatient after dealing with 22 other teenagers, he grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.

The stage lights blinded her briefly, and the noise from the audience made it impossible for her to hear anything. So when Caesar asked her a question, she stared at him blankly. "What?" she asked.

When she heard the laughter from the crowd, she knew she was spiraling downward in popularity. The last thing she wanted was to portray herself as a fool after all that Cinna and Haymitch and Effie had done to get her so far. So when she found Cinna in the crowd for encouragement, she knew she could make it through the interview.

The spinning of the dress was definitely the winner of the interviews. No one was expecting her dress to burst into flames as she spun around. Even Caesar was impressed, and Katniss was sure she spotted Cato's mouth drop a little bit. Allowing a small smile to enter her face, she laughed.

But when Caesar brought up Prim back home, Katniss froze, and it took all her willpower not to snap at him, to tell him never to speak of her. But she only replied, "I promised I'd win for her."

And soon enough, it was over, and she was backstage, watching Peeta talk to Caesar, sure that the worst part was over, at least until tomorrow morning.

But she certainly wasn't expecting him to announce that he was in love with her.


End file.
